Toronto – Toronto's Labour Council is calling for the election of more visible minority candidates in the City and School Board elections. In a letter to local unions across the city, Labour Council President John Cartwright is asking union families to support seven progressive candidates who would bring greater diversity to these elected bodies.

"While still a long way from reflecting the population of our city, the election of new faces would be an important step towards our equity goals." said Cartwright. Four are new candidates hoping to break through in areas with large visible minority populations. The candidates are:

Etobicoke North (Ward 1) - Ikram Freed. Ikram is a proven leader in Toronto's highly diverse taxi industry, spearheading the efforts to win new licences for hundreds of drivers. Active in the Waterwatch campaign, and the Rexdale Cross-Cultural Committee. If elected Ikram would be the first Muslim councillor on City Council.

York West (Wards 9 & 10) – Stephnie Payne. A stalwart in the black community, Stephnie has served on the School Board for many years. Her voice is needed as an equity advocate in our education system.

Trinity Spadina (Ward 22) – Olivia Chow. The hero of community and social justice activists, Olivia has been outstanding in her work around children and youth, as well as on issues of poverty and homelessness.

Don Valley East (Ward 33) – Zia Ahmed. Zia is a parent activist endorsed by Labour Council and the Campaign for Public Education (CPE). He has the support of popular school trustee Shelley Carroll, who is now running for city council in the same area.

Scarborough Centre (Ward 37) – Michael Thompson. Michael is the former executive assistant to Councillor Lorenzo Berardinetti, and is hoping to fill the vacancy left by Lorenzo's election to Queen's Park.

Scarborough Agincourt (Ward 39) – Sherene Shaw. The chair of the City's Committee on Race and Ethnic Relations, Sherene is challenged by Mike Delgrande. A conservative coalition led by Etobicoke's Rob Ford is actively behind his campaign, making this a tough fight.

Scarborough Rouge River (Wards 41 &42) – Alimamy Bangura. An education activist who has helped develop policies to assist racialized communities, Alimamy co-chaired the Scarborough forum of the Toronto Civic Action Network.

Labour Council is committed to an equity agenda that seeks to ensure strong progressive representation from all of Toronto's communities at every level of government.